Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening



Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening is the third game in the Devil May Cry series. It is a prequel to the first game. In this game Vergil, along with a man named Arkham release the ancient Temen-ni-gru from below the backdrop of a modern cityscape. Seemingly a gate to the demonic realm, Vergil and Arkham conspire to use Dante to unlock something within the tower. While working toward confronting his brother, Dante encounters Lady, a devil hunter. Also found is Jester, an enigmatic figure that aids Dante's journey.

Gameplay
Devil May Cry 3 plays almost completely differently from its predecessors although the premise still remains the same: slaying demons while solving puzzles through complexes.

Unlike the first and second game, DMC3 puts much more emphasis on style rather than simple demon slaying. As such, combat is much more intense and faster than before. Players can now switch between both Devil Arms and firearms with the R2 and L2 buttons, allowing for a very powerful and stylish string of combos. The Stylish meter is now represented by a gauge. As players land successful hits and dodge attacks, the gauge increases. Once filled up, it will go up a rank. The Stylish gauge starts at Dope and then, to Crazy, Blast and then Alright. Experienced players can go beyond this point and reach the Sweet rank and level up to SShowtime and the max rank SSStylish. If the player takes any damage, the gauge will be reset at a lower level and if the same attack is repeated over and over again, the gauge will not increase until a new one is performed.

In addition, players are free to choose how to go about each mission through 'Styles', which change the way Dante fights, thus allowing diverse ways to gain Stylish points. Trickster focuses on evasion techniques, allowing the player to deftly dodge attacks of any kind. They essentially increase Dante's speed and helps increase the Stylish gauge by using such evasive abilities. The Swordmaster focuses on Devil Arms/melee combat. It allows maximum use of such weapons to their fullest extent and is recommended for those who prefer close-range combat. Gunslinger brings about the best in each firearm allowing the player to unleash devastating firepower at a distance. Royalguard is arguably the strongest and hardest style to master. It allows the player to effectively guard and counter any attack delivered towards Dante and turn their powers back at them. Recommended for expert players, Royalguard is the hardest to master, but once perfected, makes Dante invincible.

Later in the game, players can gain two extra styles: Quicksilver, which slows down time while allowing the player to move at normal speed, and Doppleganger, which animates the user's shadow to assist in offense. In the Special Edition, Vergil has access to one style, Dark Slayer, an altered version of Trickster, but the player does not gain stylish points for using the techniques.

Plot
Devil May Cry 3 begins with Dante, in his yet-to-be-named shop, where a visitor named Arkham enters and sends an invitation to Dante from his twin brother Vergil. This "invitation" is a demon attack. After Dante defeats the enemies that surround the outside of his shop, an immense tower erupts from the ground, wherein the tower is in the vicinity of the area. Sensing Vergil atop the tower, he accepts the "invitation".

At the tower's entrance Dante encounters Cerberus and defeats him. Acknowledging Dante's power, Cerberus gives Dante his soul in the form of a weapon. This turns into a pattern wherein if a certain boss is defeated, they give you their souls in the form of weapons. Dante is then attacked by a woman on a motorcycle, Lady, while Dante is moving on. It is revealed later that Arkham is working for Vergil and they plan to take Dante's half of the amulet their mother gave them and use its power to reactivate the tower's ability to connect the human and demon worlds forming an action that is similar to a Hell Gate. It is also revealed that Arkham is Lady's father, that he murdered her mother, and that she is pursuing him to seek revenge.

After numerous encounters with demons while climbing the tower, Dante meets Jester, a mysterious being that resides within the tower. He also encounters Lady again who got her nickname, "Lady", from Dante because of her rejection to use her real name, Mary, that was given to her by her father. Soon, Dante reaches the tower's summit and battles Vergil. Vergil emerges victorious by stabbing Dante with his own sword. He takes Dante's half of the amulet and departs. Because Rebellion has "tasted" Dante's blood, his dormant devil powers emerge and soon sets off in pursuit of Vergil.

Arkham later on opens the door to the control room located at the tower's basement. After that, Vergil senses Arkham's apparent concern for his daughter after his failure to kill her and dispatches of Arkham as the final door is open and that he doesn't need him anymore. Dante eventually catches up to Vergil in the control room, who apparently can't reactivate the tower. Vergil battles Dante in hopes that more of Sparda's blood will make the tower reactivate, in which he implies this blood to be of his brother's. They seem evenly matched until they are interrupted by Lady after which the brothers are wounded and weak. They are soon interrupted by Jester, who knocks out Lady and reveals that he is in fact Arkham, and has been manipulating them all to reactivate the tower for his own goals. Arkham plans to go to the demon world and acquire the Force Edge which contains the bulk of Sparda's power and use it to rule over the world. He also reveals that Vergil was missing a part for the reactivation of the tower, the blood of a human priestess where it happens to be that Lady is related to the said priestess and soon sacrifices some of Lady's blood to break the spell that holds the tower. The tower then transforms, carrying Arkham upwards to the summit, while Vergil vanishes in the confusion.

Dante battles his way back up the tower, and eventually fights Lady for the right to pursue Arkham. Dante wins and Lady lends him her most powerful weapon, the Kalina Ann. Reaching the summit once again, Dante crosses over to the demon world and catches up with Arkham, who has assumed Sparda's demonic form. Overwhelmed by the power, Arkham transforms into a blob-like creature and battles Dante. Halfway through the fight, as Arkham gloats that Dante has no chance against his father's power, Vergil reappears and the two brothers fight together to defeat Arkham. Using Dante's guns, Ebony & Ivory, to finally defeat Arkham while shouting "Jackpot!". Arkham is thrown out of the demon world in a weakened state and lands atop the tower, where Lady kills him. In the demon world, Dante and Vergil battle over ownership of the Force Edge and the halves of the amulet. After an epic battle, Dante is victorious. As the portal closes, Vergil decides to stay behind, falls then vanishes into the darkness with a half of the amulet.

Returning to the human world, Dante meets Lady outside the tower where she coins the phrase "devil may cry" while trying to comfort Dante over the loss of his brother. They form a friendship and the beginnings of a partnership in demon-slaying. He later on names his shop "Devil May Cry". By accomplishing certain conditions, there is an extra scene that shows Vergil's fate. Still in the demon world severely weakened yet determined, he encounters Mundus, his father's old enemy, and charges into battle against him. His fate is later on revealed in Devil May Cry.

Special Edition
Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition is a re-release of Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening with an impressive list of added content. It is now possible to play as Vergil, on a separate save file. Vergil has different movesets and weapons from Dante, but only has two cutscenes, and still fights a "Vergil" boss three times. However, this boss has a red coat to differentiate it from "your" Vergil. Furthermore, Vergil was given several costumes similar to Dante's; his version of the "Legendary Dark Knight" costume allows him to assume the form of Nelo Angelo while in Devil Trigger. The game modes were shifted down so that the Special Edition's Normal mode is equivalent to the original's Easy mode, and a new Very Hard mode was added to replace the original Hard mode. The Bloody Palace from Devil May Cry 2 was also added, though it ends at the 9999th floor instead of restarting, and beating it with either character allows them to obtain their first Super costume. The Super glitch in the first game was corrected so that Quicksilver and Doppelganger still drain energy, even while using the Super costumes, though a new Super Dark Knight (or for Vergil, "Super Corrupt Vergil") costume was added with which the glitch is preserved. Finally, a cutscene viewing mode was added that allows the player to view any previously viewed cutscene from the main menu, and three boss fights were created against the Jester character - the first of these is mandatory, while the next two are optional.

Difficulty Modes
Devil May Cry 3 is said to be the most difficult game in the series. Enemies and Bosses generally get tougher while the player gets weaker as the difficulty increases.

Easy
Easy mode is not available at the beginning. It is unlocked by dying at least 3 times in Normal mode. Enemies in this mode have less health and generally deal less damage. Bosses have less health and are more docile. Easy also has Automatic Mode a mode for players which allows to perform complex combos with just the use of repeatedly pressing a button.
 * Lesser demons and bosses health: 90%
 * Lesser demons and bosses damage: 90%

Normal
The default mode of the game. Enemies have more health. Bosses are tough and attack frequently. The player also takes more damage.
 * Lesser demons and bosses health: 100%
 * Lesser demons and bosses damage: 100%

Hard
Unlocked by beating Normal. Enemies have even more health and deal more damage. Bosses attack more frequently.
 * Lesser demons and bosses health: 175%
 * Lesser demons and bosses damage: 175%

Very Hard
This difficulty is only available in the Special Edition version of the game. It is unlocked by beating the game on Hard. Bosses attack even more frequently. The player deals less damage and takes more damage from enemies.
 * Lesser demons and bosses health: 200%
 * Lesser demons and bosses damage: 200%

Dante Must Die
This difficulty is unlocked by beating the game on Hard. Enemies are hostile and deal more damage. They also have access to Devil Trigger and activates it after a certain period of time.
 * Lesser demons and bosses health: 250%
 * Lesser demons and bosses damage: 250%

Vergil Must Die
Vergil Must Die is basically the same as Dante Must Die with the exception being that you play as Vergil in this mode. Vergil Must Die is only available in the Special Edition version of the game.

Heaven Or Hell
New to the series is the Heaven Or Hell mode. It is unlocked by beating the game on Dante Must Die. In this mode, all Enemies and Bosses die in one attack. However, the player also dies in one attack.

Devil Arms

 * Rebellion
 * Cerberus
 * Agni & Rudra
 * Nevan
 * Beowulf

Fire Arms

 * Ebony & Ivory
 * Shotgun
 * Artemis
 * Spiral
 * Kalina Ann

Dante Costumes
The default costume.
 * Dante

This costume doesn't have the coat, like in the first mission. You can see Dante's half of the Perfect Amulet with this costume.
 * Shirtless Dante

Dante's costume from the original game. Dante takes Sparda's form while in DT and Rebellion is replaced with the Force Edge
 * DMC1 Dante

Like the Shirtless Dante, the appearance is the same as that of Devil May Cry, without his coat.
 * Shirtless DMC1 Dante

With this costume, the player is granted a pseudo form of unlimited DT. While the Devil Trigger gauge does not deplete over time, DT-consumptive techniques such as DT Flux Explosion will decrease the gauge. In addition, the player does not receive regenerative Vitality.
 * Super Dante

Dante takes on the form of his father, the Legendary Dark Knight, Sparda. As with "DMC1 Dante", Sparda wields the Force Edge. In addition, his shadow graphic is that of Sparda instead of his human form
 * The Legendary Dark Knight

Only in the Special Edition. The player takes on the form of Sparda and gains unlimited DT. Unlike Super Dante, DT in this costume allows Vitality to regenerate as well as infinite usage of DT consumptive techniques.
 * Super Legendary Dark Knight

Vergil Costumes
Vergil's default costume.
 * Vergil

Without his coat, Vergil show his arms and his black shirt
 * Shirtless Vergil

It acts nearly identical to Super Dante except that Vergil has a different appearance. Even though the player has an unlimited DT gauge, it still drops normally when you use some Summoned Swords techniques.
 * Super Vergil

This suit represents the form of Vergil when he has in power of Mundus. He looks similar to his default costume except that his skin tone is whitish and his coat is purple, imitating his father's human form. In DT, he takes on the appearance of Nelo Angelo.
 * Nelo Angelo

The player takes on the form of Nelo Angelo and gains unlimited DT like Super Legendary Dark Knight.
 * Corrupted Nelo Angelo

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Trivia

 * Every chapter beginning cutscenes has a number shown at the end of the ending cutscene(i.e. The chapter 3 shows Lady with her motorcycle,making the Three Hell Lusts burn and form "3" or Arkham's blood to from number "11").